Best of the Rest: July 24, 2015

Sure,
we want you to visit Sky Blue Window
daily, but we realize stories about incredible events, entertainment and
interesting organizations that are transforming Indiana pour out of
publications all over this city. So in this space, we bring you the Best of the Rest, a collection of other
notable pieces spotlighting arts and entertainment around town.

Check
out the list below of hot topics from beyond our Sky Blue Window. When you're finished, stick around to browse some
of our stories you might have missed this week. Enjoy!

Courtesy Jonathan McAfee

Artist Jonathan McAfee made his name celebrating Indy's most famous author. Of course, like Vonnegut, he's leaving too.

NUVO accomplished a coup this week,
when the alternative weekly published a piece from celebrated Hoosier author
Dan Wakefield. Wakefield celebrates the life and work of publisher Seymour
Lawrence who played an integral role in the careers of Kurt Vonnegut and
Wakefield, among others. According to Wakefield, Lawrence specialized in taking
on writers previously dismissed by other publishers. Vonnegut serves as a prime
example. Lawrence published his breakthrough Slaughterhouse Five after three other publishers had turned it
down. Read Wakefield's full story in NUVO
for a unique look at this literary champion of the little guy.

Indy Star broke an exclusive story
yesterday on the economic impact of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy
of Gene and Marilyn Glick. Mayor Greg Ballard celebrated the news with a small
announcement in front of Bluebeard restaurant along Virginia Avenue, on the
trail itself

The
numbers arrive in a study by Indiana University's Public
Policy Institute. They were impressive: Property values within one block of the
trail rose 148 percent between 2008 and 2014; the average expenditure by trail
users is $53 and 95 percent of trail users reported feeling safe on the trail,
in a survey as part of the study.

The
2015 Indy Film Fest wraps up tomorrow with a handful of screenings and a
closing night party at an undisclosed location at Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Last Friday, Indy Star columnist
Matthew Tully penned a great story on the festival's youngest director, 13-year-old Jack Yanover. Yanover's
documentary film That Bites! tells the story of children who suffer from food allergies. Many
of the interview subjects in the film are from Indy. For more on the 2015
Indy Film Fest, check out Ben Shine's preview of the movies on music and Jami
Stall's interview with director and native Hoosier
Michael Goldburg.

Courtesy of Vincent Desjardins

Inspired by Day of the Dead figures playing musical instruments, artist and illustrator Vincent Desjardins designed the poster for the 2015Lotus World Music and Arts Festival.

Indy Star arts reporter Wei-Huan Chen has the details on the impending retirement of
Henry Leck, the founder and longtime artistic
director of Indianapolis Children's Choir. Under his direction, ICC has enjoyed
unparalleled success with a reputation as one of the world's premier children's
choir. Head over to Indy Star to learn Leck's plans
for his final season and life after retirement. For more from Leck, see our 2014 story Hymn
& Herto learn his thoughts on why
singers struggle with covering "The Star-Spangled Banner."

For
the second week in a row, NUVO's
cover story has an arts focus. Last week, Kyle Long's profile of acclaimed
Hoosier musician Ron Matelic graced the cover. This
week, Dan Grossman shines a spotlight on 74-year-old painter Jerome Neal. Neal
will make his public debut at Arts Council of Indianapolis' Gallery 924 next
month with an exhibition entitled Circle
City 360. The paintings on display combine depictions of Indy's urban
landscape with fictional and abstract embellishments. Neal's story serves as a
reminder that you're never too old to make an impactful artistic statement. The
exhibit opens Aug. 7th.

Bloomington's
Lotus World Music and Arts Festival will celebrate its 22nd year
from Sept. 24-27. This week, the festival announced its lineup of
performing artists, which features a diverse selection of more than 25 artists
from Brazil to Korea. In addition to the foreign musicians showcasing
traditional genres from all over the globe, a handful of U.S. artists made the
cut. One prominent selection is tUnE-yArDs, the
genre-bending vocal and polyrhythmic project of Merrill Garbus.
Get some background on the event from Indiana
Daily Student, check out the entire artist lineup on the Lotus website and below watch a video of tUnE-yArDs performing live on KEXP last year.